Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accused the Obama administration of creating a “culture of intimidation” in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute Friday morning, charging that those in the administration and on the left have mounted a “coordinated effort to stifle free speech” spanning various agencies in the federal government.

McConnell pointed to the recent Internal Revenue Service alleged targeting of conservative groups as evidence, but his claims went far beyond the IRS scandal.

“[W]hat we’re dealing with here is larger than the actions of one agency or any group of employees. This administration has institutionalized the practice of pitting bureaucrats against the very people they’re supposed to be serving,” the Kentucky Republican said.

“And so now we have an administration that’s desperately trying to prove that nobody at the top was involved in any of this stuff, even as they hope that the media loses interest in this scandal and moves on,” he added.

McConnell accused the Obama administration of using the Citizens United Supreme Court decision to rally around the DISCLOSE Act, which the senator denounced as a “blunt political weapon” against conservatives.

“The real reason the Left was so concerned about Citizens United was that they thought it meant more conservatives would start to form what are known as social welfare organizations,” McConnell said. “And what’s notable about social welfare groups is they don’t have to disclose their donors.”

McConnell indicated that he would not be in favor of reinstating the independent counsel statute during a question and answer session, noting that it did not serve country well.

He did, however, speak out in support of “thorough investigation” in the House of Representatives spearheaded by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Dave Camp (R-Mich.)

“I don’t think we ought to jump to any conclusions, I think we should let the facts take us where they take us,” said McConnell. “I am prepared to say that the president and his political allies encouraged this kind of bureaucratic overreach by their public comments, but that’s quite different than saying they ordered it.”

The senator also refused to answer a question about the Corker-Hoeven amendment to the immigration bill proposed Thursday, the latest attempt to reach a bipartisan agreement on immigration reform.